Rita Delfiner , The New York Post

We’d be lion if we said this wasn’t a dog.

Panicked residents of Norfolk, Va., called 911 after spotting this roaming, 3-year-old Labradoodle – a Labrador-poodle mix – that had been groomed to look like the king of the jungle.

But it wasn’t a big cat, just a ­pooch named Charles, here in Times Square yesterday, enjoying his 15 minutes of fame.

“There was a lion that ran across the street. A baby lion. It was about the size of a Labrador retriever,” HamptonRoads.com reported one caller telling 911 Tuesday.

“I just saw a baby lion,” another anxious caller reported. “I don’t think it has caused any problem so far.”

Even police dispatchers bit.

“OK. You think it’s looking for food?” the police employee asked.

“I don’t know.”

Cops reached out to the Virginia Zoo – but both its lions were accounted for.

It turns out that Charles, who enjoys the occasional pizza handout at the parlor near Old Dominion University, belongs to Daniel Painter, who runs a local lawn and garden business.

He had Charles shaved to look like Old Dominion’s costumed lion mascot.

“I tell people he’s a Lab-a-lion, and half the people believe that,” Painter chortled. 

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